A Beautiful End
by SperoDeoVolente
Summary: Lux seeks adventure as the world comes close to ending. Darius gets in her way.
1. Chapter 1

The land can only stand so much mindless destruction before it dies off completely. Runeterra had started to decay away into wastes unsuitable for all forms of life from the countless centuries of war, so all of the various City-States of Runeterra came to an agreement for a time of peace for the sake of survival. An uneasy peace, but peace nonetheless. However, the damage was done to the land.

What was once peaceful grasslands, forests, deserts, swamps, snow peaked mountains, and the like, now house monsters made from twisted war magics. Twisted spirits from the Shadow Isles haunt the living for their own twisted purposes, creatures unleashed from the Void hunt prey freely, and new dangerous things unknown stalk whatever they please. Leaders from Noxus, Demacia, Zaun, and Piltover meet regularly for trade agreements; Runeterra may have fallen into near ruin but supplies still need to be traded among them peacefully for the sake of mutual survival.

However, countless of centuries of conflict are not easily laid aside. Bitter rivalry between Noxus and Demacia is not forgotten, merely pushed aside until something breaks the peace. Forces long hidden have wanted the complete destruction of Runeterra. A mere attempt at peace will not stop them from reaching this goal, or so they thought...

~Noxus /Darius PoV/ ~

As Darius packs for his latest mission, his orders from Swain float through his brain. For the past five years Noxus has been at peace, and these orders will change that. They could in fact, change the political scene from this pathetic peace with weaker nations into a more productive war with Demacia. Officially he has been tasked with teaming up a Demacian Mage, one Luxanna Crownguard, to hunt down and kill a rogue beast killing travels in a certain mountain pass. Secretly tasked by Swain, he has been ordered with assessing the threat level of this mage, and nullifying her if she is a danger to Noxus. It pleases him that they are removing threats from Noxus again, instead of playing nice with everyone.

Not much is known about this particular Crownguard, only that she was once a famous Demacian spy and supposedly a powerful mage. Once peace was reached, she disappeared completely from the political scene. Yet, he doesn't need to much about her to get the job done. All Crownguard's are notoriously dangerous warriors, and the only 'good' Demacian is a dead one. It has been over five years since he has able to shed Demacian blood, and honestly he misses the thrill of battle.

A tiny part of his brain nags that an assassin would be better suited for this mission, but Swain handpicked him for it instead of someone like Talon or Katarina. No matter, he doesn't need to be an assassin to kill a mere Demacian mage. The fools are so trusting with this new pathetic peace that it won't take much to behead her in the middle of the night. As the last of his saddlebags are packed, he leads his horse out of the stables and towards the main gates. Cornix is a large black stallion trained from birth to be a warhorse. Faithful to the core, intelligent, and ruthless in battle they make a great pair. Ever since this peace has started the poor fellow has been languishing bored in the stables. It'll be good to take him out into the field again.

Almost dancing with excitement Cornix looks over his shoulder at Darius as he mounts. With a reassuring pat on his mount's side, Darius rests his axe behind him, putting it in a holder, and heads out. No one waves goodbye, this is a quiet mission not meant to gather a lot of attention from the average Noxian soldier. As they exit from the main gates and head out on the main road, the sun starts to rise from the Eastern horizon. This shouldn't be too complicated! I should be back home, and preparing for war in less than a month.

~Demacia /Lux PoV/ ~

As a faint hum of happiness escapes under her breath, Lux also packs for her mission. It is simple enough; team up with a Noxian General, one Darius, to hunt down and kill a rogue monster that is a menace to traders. Unbeknownst to anyone, Lux has her own agenda with this mission. Exactly three months ago Lux found out that her mother had made plans to marry her off to fellow Demacian noble for the sake of starting a new generation.

That isn't what Lux wants, she wants adventure! So, after some discreet research about future field work missions, and magical subtlety changing paperwork, Lux put herself in this mission instead of a different mage. At the end of the mission, she plans to leave her Noxian partner behind, and head out on her own. There are countless job opportunities for mages in Piltover or Zaun, and she has some contacts there that can help her. This is a just a mere Noxian general, just some dumb soldier with an axe! Disappearing from his care at the end of the mission should be easy enough.

A tiny part of her mind nags at her about the actual mission, not her own personal plan. Sometime seems off about the mission parameters, but she can't figure out what exactly. Darius seems like an odd choice to be her partner for the mission. Hell, it seems off that they would need Noxian and Demacian working together, when a simple team for a single City State would work. No matter! She'll figure it out on the road.

The longer she stays in the city, the more chances her mother has of marrying her off. Careful to pack only what she needs, Lux is brisk at her work attempting to hide her excitement at freedom and adventure. Lux has plenty of power to use, but she doesn't want to waste mana maintaining an illusion spell to hide her shaking hands. It has taken her agonized weeks, but she has determined what is a must bring with, and something she can afford to never see again. Prism, her horse, stands patiently beside her completely unconcerned with Lux's inner anxiety. Prism is her best friend, a gentle palomino mare, who has been her horse since she was a little girl. Once she is satisfied with her packing Prism's saddlebags, Lux heads out riding tall on Prism. The sun hasn't even risen yet, the streets are practically empty.

All of her goodbyes have been said in magically hidden letters that will be appear at the right moment, so Lux doesn't stop to speak to anyone on her way out. Wasting no time to leave Demacia behind her, Lux breaks out into song as she exits the main gates. Singing is a passion of hers, a habit her mother frowns upon. It will be a while before she can sing freely anyways! Singing loudly on the open road is a good way to attract dangerous attention.

The main roads are safe for the first few miles so she can sing to her heart's content. It isn't until the main crossroads that she meets up with this Noxian General, and things get dangerous. After all, she has to worry about the dangers from the local wildlife, and a strange Noxian! All that she knows about him is that he yields a battle axe, and is a general. He wasn't in charge while she was doing her spy work in Noxus, so she has no previous Intel on him. That doesn't matter, however! All that he is a brute that will help her kill a monster before she books it for freedom. What little she knows of the monster she is tasked with killing is that is really tough, strongly armored with natural protection. Part of the reason why the mission seems a bit off is the lack of info on the monster, only that it is dangerous and needs to be put down for the safety of traders.

Once the sun clears the horizon, Lux stops her singing, and looks ahead. It shouldn't be too much longer until she meets up Darius at the Crossroads. Where the main road leading in and out of Demacia leaves the City States boundaries, it meets up at a massive crossroads intersecting with three other main roads. Once the road she is traveling on leaves Demacian lands, it turns from paved white and gray stone to hard packed gravel. What was once large grasslands, is now charred ash covered hills. In order to make the roads clear, and safe, a team of mages from Noxus cleared the grasslands with a magical fire to kill at the dangerous wildlife. However, the land didn't recover as expected. Nothing has grown in place since the fire four years ago, despite efforts from local farmers to start fertile farm lands.

Waiting for her at the start of the Crossroads is who can only be Darius. He's larger then she expected, and strangely enough, dashingly handsome. Despite having a jagged scar over one eye, his onyx eyes are bright, and alert. An intelligence gleams from those eyes, instead of the dull glassy eyed look of the average Noxian soldier. Silky, jet black hair is kept short, and well groomed. A small white streak of hair is over one temple. His gaze is cold as he looks up her up and down assessing her. Something tells her that she doesn't want to fail his gaze. Without a word, he nods his head at her before turning his horse towards the west, the general direction of their prey.

"Um, hi! You must be Darius, I'm Luxanna Crownguard, please..." Lux starts to say before she is rudely interrupted.

"Obviously. Let's get going, we're wasting daylight just standing here talking." Darius tells her abruptly cutting off her request to have him her call Lux.

"Yes, obviously I'm Luxanna Crownguard, but what I want you know to know is to please call me Lux." Lux continues to say, ignoring his rudeness.

Despite their City States being at peace, it looks like he doesn't like her, hopefully he'll be at least polite. No surprise at the immediate dislike really, even though there is a peace, Demacians and Noxians haven't been mingling. Well, at the end of this mission she won't be Demacian either! Might as well work on getting rid of her prejudice against all Noxians, after all, this brute might not be so bad. Plus, he's handsome! It can't hurt to make new allies, plus if he doesn't suspect me of anything, it'll be easier to sneak off if this doesn't work out. As their horses lined up side by side, Lux feels her heart start to beat faster. Uncertain why her heart would do this, Lux ignores the sensation of her fluttering heart. Darius seems completely obvious of her pounding heart.

Both of them have been briefed on the mission, and Darius seems content to not speak to her for the moment. As the miles pass beneath their horses hooves in quiet, the silence starts to bother Lux. It is an awkward silence, a rare thing for her. Most people like her, and have no problem talking with her. This is the first time that Lux has been faced with not being liked.

"Hey Darius I was wondering if you would like to..." Lux starts to speak up, however, again she is interrupted.

"I don't care what you want to do. We have a mission to complete, I don't have to like anything, much less you to get it done." Darius snarls at her.

Lux blinks in surprise at his outburst of a reply. Huh? What he is talking about? Strange man! Well, if he is going to be difficult, I can be difficult too! He'll learn not to dislike me for no good reason! Challenge accepted Darius, you will learn to respect me by the end of this. Because if it is one thing I know about Noxians, you won't even think twice about me unless I can prove I'm strong. Lux didn't stop and wonder why she wanted him to think twice about her, only that she does. Giving him her best enigmatic smile in response, Lux slips back into silence and starts to plot her next plan.


	2. Chapter 2

Sweat dribbles down her temples, dripping heavily onto her face. Lux's keen blue eyes scan the horizon for any sort of shelter from the harsh sunshine. The southern edge of the Shurima desert isn't far, and the glint of distant sand can be seen from the corner of her eyes. It is possible that the beast they hunt is a Void creature that wandered out of the desert. However, that is a secondary thought compared to the problem at hand. Darius has not said one word since his earlier outburst. She is in fact a little concerned for him, and his mount. They have not stopped once to water their horses since leaving meeting up this morning. Sweat formed small lakes under her light armor, how is Darius able to tolerate the heat with his heavy armor on? Prism wears no armor, however, Darius's horse does have armor. The endurance of the animal is certainly impressive! No matter how impressive it still can't be good for the thing to not have a water break.

How in the world is that black horse in armor still moving in these temperatures without a water break? Tsk, stubborn man! He is hurting everyone around him in his determination to prove whatever his stupid point is! One delicate hand reaches into her satchel at her waist, removing her precious map from within. Lux's fingers unroll the thick papyrus map and spread it out on the edge of her saddle. If this map is still accurate...there should be a river just a few miles north of the next crossroads. A side effect of out of control war magics is that the land isn't stable. It changes, and sometimes frightfully often. Where there might have been water may no longer have any. Still, the detour isn't that far off the main road. That it is close gemstone mines maybe if she is in luck she can find some useful raw materials.

"You can choose to push your horse to death, but I won't to Prism. The map indicates that there should be a river a few miles north of here. I'm taking a water break. Follow if you wish, but I won't stay on this suicide march of stubborn silence." Lux remarks coolly.

Before Darius can reply, Lux directs Prism in a different direction. Roughly fifteen seconds after her announcement loud curses can be heard. Shortly after that sounds of another horse, wearing armor, is heard coming from behind her. Good! Stubborn man can bow to common sense! He isn't beyond redemption like some men she has met. Silence stretches on between them. Roughly one mile further in their new direction Prism picks up her head. Her pace picks up slightly. Excellent! Prism must have scented fresh water ahead of them.  
Before long Lux can also smell fresh water. Over the sounds of wind and rustling grass the faintest sounds of running stream or river is heard. With a click of her tongue, Lux encourages Prism to go faster. Again the sound of dismayed cursing comes from behind. Quickly rising along the crest of a small hills a river appears below her. Thankfully the water is still clear looking. Eagerly Prism trots down to the water and greedily starts to gulp down water. Carefully Lux slows down her horses drinking rate. No need to cause Prism harm from drinking too much water, too fast. Not long after Prism starts drinking, Cornix joins in. Practically shoving his entire face under the river Cornix enjoys himself. Lux smiles a bit at the horses unabashed enjoyment of the refreshing break.

"Are you crazy, Demacian?!" Darius snarls at her as he dismounts.

"Hmm?" Lux mutters back she gets down as well.

"Just charging in like that! What if something was waiting to ambush us? You could have gotten us killed!" Darius screams back, one hand resting his hands on his hips while the other holds his axe close.

"I know what I'm doing! First off, Prism isn't dumb. She can sense dangerous animals from a rather impressive distance. Certainly Cornix can as well. Prism would not charge face first into a trap set by a wild animal. And! If you're worried about something magical catching us off guard that isn't a problem either. Part of my abilities as a mage is being able to feel outside sources of magic. If something here was masking its presence from Prism and Cornix I would have known. You worry too much. The things that can get past our combined basic defenses have been removed from this section of road already. Taking such a risk starting tomorrow would be stupid of me. However it is not a risk this close within our combined city's boundaries. Don't you read any of the reports that are generated about the activity of dangerous beasts within the common traveling distances of the four major city states? Surely you at least did some research on the nearby terrain we're going through before leaving Noxus! I certainly did. I have a good idea of the dangerous beasts we could encounter within a five hundred mile radius. We are well within the maintained safe zone." Lux says with a smug tone one of her blond eyebrows rising high mockingly.

"Hmph. Still stupid." Darius replies back darkly.

"I'm no fool Darius. I may not be strong like you or my brother. I reply on my magic and my ability to think - plan ahead. Knowledge is power. I stay strong by staying informed on current events. The amount of reading I did to prepare for this trip was no small thing. I may not be able cut my way out of danger like you, or Garen can. But I wouldn't need to if I can avoid the dangers in the first place." Lux answers back with a more somber tone.

No need to mention exactly why she did such thorough research on a much larger area than the mission needs. Very few people have called her stupid, or accused her of rushing into danger like an idiot. Perhaps her traveling companions horse from dehydration was not the smartest way to make a good impression? How does one impress a Noxian anyway? All Darius does is grunt at her or insult her decisions. Sapphire blue eyes scan her surroundings for anything useful. If she is lucky something she wants is nearby. Hopefully the land hasn't changed so much to alter the base geology too drastically. It may be too dangerous to mine here, but maybe there is something useful for her.

"Prims stay." Lux orders her horse.

Once that small detail is taken care of Lux starts to examine the various river rocks. Various rocks in all sorts of sizes litter the bank and well into the running water. It would be easiest to search for what she wants with magic. Her hand freezes mid cast for the promising looking rocks. Darius didn't seem to think that her knowledge showed strength. Perhaps a display of both expansive knowledge and magical power would do the trick! Questionable as this mission is she has to work as a team with him. If he doesn't believe in her then he won't trust her to help him win the battle. Time to show that proud Noxian some, but not all, of the tricks up her sleeve. Instead of casting a spell to search out the specific qualities in the minerals, Lux searches by hand. By the end of the hour she will have made an impression of being powerful!

Unfortunately magic has started to change the geologic makeup of the native rockbed. Still, the transformation isn't complete. There are still some useful samples. Just not as many as she would have liked. After a while Lux gathered several suitable samples for her needs. Now to play the waiting game to get Darius to speak up.

"What are you doing foolish woman? We didn't get deployed to collect pebbles! Just gathering useless weight Dumb Demacian.." Darius grumbles at her.

"Mhmm. Garen can slice rocks in half with his sword. It is very impressive to watch." Lux replies back not answering his question.

"Hmph." Darius mutters sounding unhappy at her lack of explanation.

"Can you do that? With your axe? Slice rocks in half with one movement?" Lux asks not looking up from her search.

"Of course I can. It takes power and precision to do that." Darius retorts back not sounding impressed.

"I can do that. Slice rocks in half that is. With my light magic." Lux replies back with a bright smile.

"Haha. Yeah right." Darius says back mockingly.

"I can. I'll prove it. Throw a rock at me." Lux says back making a slicing motion with her hand.

Green eyes look at her in disbelief. Without looking away, Lux places her small collection of river rocks in her satchel. All Darius does is continue staring at her like she's a fool. A fierce frown crosses her lips. With a sigh the Noxian general picks up a rock and throws it half heartedly at her. It doesn't even close to hitting her. All he does is smirk as it bounces far from her. Rage bubbles up in her throat. Things are on now! He's going to get some bruises for that insult and not just on his pride!

"Fine. We're going to play a game. I'm going to win. I am going to throw exactly twenty rocks at you. You will dodge the first one, but won't manage to slice it in half with your axe. After that you will slice the next nine stones. The last ten will hit you. I promise not to draw blood. I do have manners unlike some obnoxious men I happen to see." Lux growls back eyes narrowing.

All Darius does is start to laugh. Swiftly casting several illusion spells Lux throws a rock straight at his head. He lets out a loud startled yelp as his head instinctively dodges the blow. Before he can say anything she launches the next rock hard and fast. Sure enough the mighty axe moves smoothly slicing it in half. Even before the pieces of broken rock hits the ground Lux starts throwing the following eight rocks. Each rock is thrown at a very specific speed in at a certain part of his body. All of the rocks are sliced neatly in half. Lux graces him with a smile before tossing the next rock. Before Darius can smirk back at her the rock slams hard into the gap between his leg armor.

"FUCK!" Darius yells.

Without pause Lux throws the remaining nine rocks. She is rewarded with nine following curses as her rocks strike narrow stripes of exposed flesh. Once the last rock is thrown she gives a him smug look. Green eyes glare sheer rage at her.

"Your turn. I will slice every rock you throw. You will get in no hits." Lux mocks back at him.

"Bitch you will learn not to mock me." Darius snarls throwing three rocks in rapid succession.

Bright flickers of light flash and the rocks split into three pieces each completely missing her. If any of those rocks her temple it would kill her. Still she has a plan he can't beat. Shortly after that he throws five rocks in rapidly together. More flickers of light happen causing the rocks to shatter before coming near her. Lux lets out a soft laugh at him. His face flushes red. Darius scoops up more rocks. Unlike the first eight, however, this time Darius takes more time to aim. Still thrown with the same deadly force they are more carefully aimed at her. Not a single rock manages to come near her person before being destroyed by her magic. After letting the frustrated man throw more than twenty rocks at her, Lux decides to end the game. That, and if he continues to think before aiming his throws he might actually figure out the plan and cause her bodily harm. Before he can pick up another rock to throw she lands a light snare on his wrist.

"I win! I even let you have more than twenty attempts to hit me. And neither of us are bleeding." Lux replies back with a smug tone, still not dropping her spell.

"You really are stupid. I could have killed you!" Darius growls upset at losing both the game and his temper.

"No you couldn't have. I was in control the entire time. I give your rock slicing skills a C-. I do, however, grade you military training a solid A+." Lux explains with a faint smile, but not a smirk.

"Explain." Darius demands face growing red again.

"It went like this. I knew you wouldn't take my first throw seriously by your earlier actions. I made sure to aim for your head because it would startle you, and you couldn't slice it in time with the distance from your axe. All Noxians with melee weapons are drilled in the training patterns snake, shark, and hawk. It teaches your muscles to dodge without thought. I used magic to throw those rocks exactly the speed the standard Noxian training machines used, following the traditional pattern of snake, shark, then hawk. You remembered my threat and believed that I was at least a minor threat by that point. Yet, your body is conditioned to attack flown projectiles in a certain pattern."

"By forcing you into the familiar training routine it was easy to throw counter to all known Noxian training methods for your weapon range. You couldn't hit anything I threw at you because your muscle memory is too strong. I knew that you would kill me if any those stones actually hit me. So what you were throwing rocks at is a mere illusion of my person. I'm at a very safe distance just tossing my magic out to hit the rocks before they reach my spell breaking it. I give a C- because you were figuring out on some level near the end that the magic I used to break the rocks wasn't lining up with my image. In regards to being true to your training, you passed with flying colors. However your skills at breaking from the norm in unexpected battle environments is below par." Lux explains still not breaking the illusion.

By the end of her explanation Darius mouth is hanging open. A complete different expression is in his eyes. What was once complete disbelief and disdain is now a more solid respect. Still he doesn't look nearly impressed enough. Time for stage two.

"Since at our city states at peace for the undetermined future, I am going to give you some advice. Spice up the standard training given to your melee fighters. I've got all their standard, and most of the advanced methods memorized. Against a knowledgeable opponent, they are huge weaknesses to be exploited. If you were a mage the outcome might be different. Although I've reverse engineered all the spells your mages are taught they are a bit tricker to counter on the fly. Don't worry about the training of your mages. They're dangerous enough on their own, not many mages can pick up spells like I can." Lux tells him with an indifferent shrug.

"Interesting. Very interesting that you know such things about us. It is a good thing that our countries are at peace. That was some risk you took throwing rocks at the narrow gaps in my armor." Darius voice is soft and thoughtful his eyes still harboring some anger.

"Not really. I need you fully functional for this monster we're tracking. Not need to limit your damage output by actually hurting you." Lux explains once again returning to her search for the right kinds of rock.

"You're just a little mage you can't throw a rock hard enough to kill me. Knock me unconscious if you landed a lucky blow certainly." Darius replies back, however, his tone is not mocking more uncertain.

"How have you survived a battle this long? I thought you smarter than that." Lux retorts back having three small rocks of the right composition in her fist.

"Hmph. Explain. Only this time no need to throw a rocks at me." Darius says back voice curious.

"Average Noxus issue armor has at least one layer of magic resist to it, and two layers of build in density for defense against standard metal, or hextech weapons. It can handle most magical abuse taken by the average battle mage. You are bit more cautious in your choice of battle attire. Your armor has at least six levels of built in magic resist, and double the standard thickness in weight. You have your allies in Zaun to thank for the dual layer mechanics in your armor without compromising the integrity of the metals mingling with the magic resist."

"The amount of effort it would take to cast a spell at you that could break through your armor is not worth it at this range. You're fast enough that I would die for the attempt. However, there are rocks here with traces of opal in them. The magical properties of raw opal are rather interesting since they can store magic without additional resources needing to be added. If I wanted to disable you, I would have placed a delayed timed explosion spell on each rock I tossed at you. Piltover actually has a hextech device that uses this concept. Any of the rocks with a level three or higher explosive spell in them would have caused you to bleed rather badly. For example…" Lux tells him a look of concentration on her face.

One of her hands glow a faint blue color. Sparkles in the rock absorb this glow before turning to normal. Lux looks over the river looking for a target. There is a log trapped in the middle of the river. A flick of her wrist shots the rock out. The moment it makes contact with the log pieces of damp bark splinter apart.

"That rock coupled with that spell would have caused you to drop to your knees. From there I would have easier access to your neck. Don't worry too much about me killing you with some pretty pebbles though. It takes a lot of control to place a stable explosive spell on raw opal without additional materials. Not many mages can do this. That is why most magical hextech hybrid bombs are created in labs. The ratio of effort, power, and control to cost of lab materials is too expensive for the average mage. We've rested long enough I think. I can eat my lunch on the saddle. We should head out." Lux tells him before whistling at Prism.

"You are not what I was expecting. You are truly a formidable mage." Darius replies back his voice deeper than normal, an odd tone of voice masked in his words.

"Thank you." Lux replies without looking back at him.

"You're still an idiot though." Darius snaps back unable to let her have the last word.

Lux replies back with a rude gesture with her right hand. This actually earns her a chuckle from the Noxian. Soon enough they reach the main road. Roughly an hour after the river is behind her, Lux reaches into a saddle bag. She had packed her lunch in it. Darius is a big boy he can figure out to eat lunch in the saddle when he gets hungry. Not long after she starts to chow down on her packed lunch, Darius also pulls a meal from a saddle bag. The two of them eat in silence. An uneasy feeling creeps up and down Lux's spine as the sun starts to set. Something is watching them.

"Darius…" Lux starts to call out her companion's name, uncertain if it is wise to make noises with something watching them.

"I know, Demacian. Something is hunting us." Darius replies back, pitching his voice just loud enough for her to hear.

As soon as Darius is done talking, the intense pressure of being watched fades away instantly. Both horses come to complete stop. Everyone is tense at the unexpected presence coming and going without much warning. Lux knew that they were hunting something powerful, but she wasn't expecting it to come and go like that. She barely had any notice of it, and even then she didn't know how close it actually came to them. That, and it showed up a lot sooner than she had anticipated. Things are not going according to plan!

"Well shit." Both Darius and Lux say out loud at the same time.


	3. Chapter 3

Darius and Lux stared at each other in stunned silence for just a minute before snapping into action in unison. Lux holds up her left hand, using the silent signal for 'what is your command?' used in the Noxian military. A bonus to mesmerizing almost all standard Noxian training, is the ability to speak to Darius without words. A skill she had not anticipated needing while spying in Noxus.

Gall sits in her stomach, bitter and heavy. As much as she doesn't want to follow a Noxians commands in battle, Darius does have superior knowledge in the field. Any advantage might keep them both alive, and Lux isn't so proud to turn her back on such a resource. Still, it hurts her pride like a blade to the gut. The closest she has come to being this wrong before, is when she lost a bet with Fiora. A feeling she had hoped to have left behind her.

Darius holds up his left hand, index and middle finger straight. A flick of his wrist causes his hand to drop, fingers changing position to his pinky and thumb sticking outwards. With a gentle nudge of her heels, Lux shifts Prism into position slightly behind Cornix's but to the right. This is a standard scouting position; close enough to provide cover. Yet, there is enough distance between the two of them, that an attack won't take them both out at once. Both of them are tense, alert for any new signs of danger. None appear, which worries them both. Why would their prey show itself like that, then vanish? Darius gives Lux the signal for, 'follow' then heads off at a brisk trot.

Tense silences accompanies them for several miles. Muscles held tight from fear, Lux keeps an anxious eye out for trouble. This is the first time she's left home since the land started to warp. Sure, she had book knowledge...but it hadn't prepared her for such a stealthy approach! How could a mere beast get past her magical senses? It wasn't mentioned in the tomes she's read!

Again, gall sinks hard to the lowest section of her stomach. Darius does have current field experience. An additional bonus, he is very adept at killing. Without his battle expertise it is doubtful she can reach the next city state in one piece. Time to adjust her plans for future adventuring! But, if the city-states knew about how dangerous this...abomination is, why just send the two of them? Shouldn't more force be warranted? Unease filled Lux, but a different kind. More is at play here then just monster hunting. Something to look into once she reaches the relative safety of a fortified town, or city. Unbeknownst to her, Darius was thinking very similar thoughts.

Roughly twenty miles down the road an outcropping of broken stones looms large. This isn't on her map! It looks frightfully recent, almost as if it put there on purpose? Something like a rockslide is covering sections of the road. Here the road forks. The path leading to Piltover is impassable, while the other road is barely usable. From what Lux remembers is that section of road continues to skirt along the outside of Shurima. Their options are now much more limited. Both of them stand at the jumble of stone in silence, debating their options internally.

"We'll make camp here. The rocks will provide ample cover. Tomorrow we continue on the open path. That thing couldn't head towards Piltover any better then we can." Darius informs her, his back stiff.

In unison they slide off their horses and start searching for anything dangerous hidden in the area. Nothing surfaces as a danger. Lux starts putting up magical protections, and Darius starts to construct a covered area. Neither of them risk a fire. Once her bed is established, Lux pulls out a simple trail ration for her supper. Prism happily chews on nearby grasses.

"Hmph! That is what you're eating for supper?" Darius says with disdain, eyeballing her ration with open disgust. Unlike her, Darius has fancier trail rations. Unlike hers, they require some prep and cooking. In his gear is a tiny hextech stove for such things.

"Yes." Lux snaps back face growing red at his growing smirk.

"Pity. Demacian trail rations taste like ash. Completely tasteless! Noxian military provides superior traveling rations. I'm surprised that's all they gave you," Darius continues with his commentary on her dinner.

"This is what I gave me. I packed my own rations! I-I don't know how to cook. It isn't something deemed worthy of my time while I was getting lessons. These are the only rations that don't require any prep or cooking. I could have brought fancier supplies, but I couldn't use them. And, I didn't think you'd feed me. Or help me cook my own dinner," Lux continues her explanation tone growing nastier.

"So you do have limitations," Darius replies back, eyebrows rising at her.

"Yes. And...I'm sorry. You were right. Earlier my foolishness could have gotten us killed. Your field skills are better then mine. I'll follow your orders because that is the smart choice. Failure in the mission is not an option." Lux rushes out her apology, refusing to look him in the eyes. "You want first or second watch," Lux asks while staring at her dinner. She's such a fool! Today has been full of lessons. All she wants is someone to see her with respect. All her attempts to impress Darius, and prove to him that she is strong backfired! What could he possibly think of her after today?

"I'll take first watch. Rest up while you can." Darius doesn't acknowledge her apology, nor look her in the eyes.

Carefully finishing every crumb of her meal, Lux still can't find the courage to look at his face. Lux does not want to see the open disdain on his face. He must be so disgusted with her! Now, to finish this mission alive. Then, relocate to a different city-state and prepare for her adventuring. As is, if she went out on her own, she wouldn't last. Wounded pride stings at her just as sharp as Darius' disappointment in her. Lux can feel his gaze on her, it rests heavy on her shoulder blades. He can't hurt her! Not with her personal protection spells on her spelling place. Why does his stupid opinion matter to her? He's just some dumb Noxian who she's forced to work with, even if he the most handsome man she's ever seen. Life is getting complicated outside of Demacia without her parents trying to marry her off! Why can't anything go as planned?


End file.
